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November 2007 Archives
« October 2007 | | December 2007 »
November 27, 2007
Slow Down and Make the Right Decisions
Posted by Shawn Stewart | Filed under: Personality News
We recently helped a 25 year-old business slow down and make the right decisions so they could realize their potential. They've asked Personality™ to come and lead a workshop to share those discoveries on Dec. 15 with their 65 staff members and associates to get everyone on the same page.
We can do the same for you. Interested?
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November 26, 2007
Sprint PCS: Confusing and Dysfunctional
Posted by Shawn Stewart | Filed under: Experience
I was in the Sprint store over the weekend to upgrade to a new phone. Mine was long overdue for retirement.
While I was finishing my purchase, I overheard another conversation between an associate and a young woman. She wanted to return a phone she had recently purchased and was really unhappy with. She had called ahead of time to speak with a Sprint customer service rep and they told her she could send it in or bring it to a local store. I stood there watching the frustration well up in this poor woman's face. She explained the scenario to the associate and got a response that basically amounted to this: "The customer service department is a completely different department and has nothing to do with the retail stores." He then proceeded to give her what seemed like a never ending list of things she would have to do in order to return her phone--contradicting what she was previously told through Sprint's customer service.
I guess Sprint is asking its customers to care about its organizational structure, politics and department silos. The problem with that is no one cares! Whether it's customer service or it's a retail store, they are both Sprint. No wonder Sprint sits atop the MSN Customer Service Hall of Shame.
Small business owners everywhere, you can learn a lot from Sprint's mistake. Don't treat different departments of your business as completely autonomous. If you do, you may end up with efficient departments but be perceived by your customers as dysfunctional. If you can't communicate and work well with each other, how can you expect to communicate and work well with your customers?
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November 19, 2007
The Scent of Personality
Posted by Brad Abare | Filed under: Experience
My wife and I walked to Starbucks yesterday for an early morning decaf drip and a copy of the LA Times. Shortly after we entered we started smelling something that didn't resemble coffee. My first thought was that we were in a heavily concentrated area of homeless people, so perhaps we were smelling the lack of available public restrooms in the area--or abundance of them--depending on what you call a bathroom.
It didn't take long to realize we were smelling salty breakfast sandwiches being warmed in the Starbucks oven. Gross. The odor was nasty, and it took away from the whole coffee house smell that Starbucks is known for.
Smell is pretty powerful. It's got to be the most undervalued of the five senses in marketing. The Scent Marketing Institute thinks so. James Vlahos wrote a great piece for the New York Times this past September called Scent and Sensibility.
What does your personality smell like?
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November 12, 2007
Meaning Before Marketing
Posted by Brad Abare | Filed under: Brand & Identity
Freelance strategist and creative director Andy Whitlock wrote a great article in the November 5 issue of Adweek entitled "Where's the Meat?". Despite his genuine posture and tone, Whitlock is on a crusade for meaning. "Forget the purple cow," says Whitlock, "It's what's inside the cow that counts. Unless I have a distorted memory of my mother preparing Sunday lunch, you start with the meat and add the glaze, not the other way around."
Andy must be a distant cousin because this is what Personality™ is all about. The meaning must come before the marketing. Unfortunately, too many brands get it wrong.
"Most marketing models, however, are designed to create messages and, more often than not, any potential meaning or substance that shows up in the process is used only to sell the fluffy end product. And because messages are mostly just information, the creative packaging around them often masquerades as the idea upon which a campaign is then built. Even the most "viral" piece of content can lack meaning. Today more than ever before, brands need to offer substance to stand any chance of getting into our hearts--and not just our in-boxes."
Andy calls this opportunity for brands to pursue meaning a "meat market." And I think he's right when he says its underexploited.
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November 8, 2007
Telling Others What You Do
Posted by Brad Abare | Filed under: Brand & Identity
Blogging buddy Nick Rice has an excellent post this week about how to respond to the common question we get asked all the time: "What do you do?"
Instead of the typical responses that we always give (lawyer, accountant, designer, doctor, etc.), Nick says we should instead respond with a simple statement stated in this formula:
I work with (target audience) who struggle with (issue/challenge).
Nick suggests that "this short and sweet formula is the beginning of revolutionizing your marketing efforts."
I love this simple approach and the potential conversation doors it opens up. It creates a whole new frame for communicating with others.
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November 5, 2007
You're Always Telling a Story
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Experience
Everything your organization does is marketing:
- How you answer the phone.
- How long it takes you to respond to e-mail.
- Whether or not you hit deadlines.
- The condition of your physical space (neat/messy, clean/dirty, spacious/cramped, etc.)
- Whether you send out Christmas cards, holiday cards, gifts or nothing.
- How you treat your employees.
And the list goes on. Each one contributes to the story of your organization. And as Seth Godin says, "Even when you don't try, you're telling a story."
That story is just as much marketing as your postcards, billboards or web ads. So you better make sure you're telling a compelling and consistent story that matches your organization's DNA, whether it's through traditional marketing venues or everyday things that aren't in the marketing budget--but communicate just as much about your company.
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